This application claims the priority of application number 10254130.2, filed in Germany on Nov. 20, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a removable roof for a motor vehicle passenger car, which in use covers an opening between a windshield frame and a body frame structure of a body of the passenger car, extending behind vehicle occupant seats, said roof comprising a dimensionally stable material and cooperating by means of a form-lockingly operating fixing system with the windshield frame.
The subject matter of this application is related to commonly assigned application Ser. Nos. 10/716,867; 10/716,941; and 10/716,943, filed herewith and based on respective German applications 10254108.6; 10254131.0; and 10254132.9.
On a side facing a windshield frame, a removable roof for motor vehicles known from German Patent Document DE 14 55 743 (Corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,437) comprises a single form-lockingly operating fixing system. The fixing system is formed by a bearing journal at the roof and a receiving bore at the windshield frame. The bearing journal and the receiving bore are mounted on special consoles which extend away from the roof and from the windshield frame respectively and project into the vehicle occupant compartment.
German Patent Document DE 94 06 435 relates to a roof which has two roof parts fitted together in a longitudinal center plane and held on the windshield frame solely by means of a locking system. The locking system is equipped with a turning handle which, in a closed position, reaches by means of a nose under a tensioning slope of an interior covering.
Finally, from German Patent Document DE 41 37 344 A1, a demountable roof for a passenger car is known which extends between an upper member part of a windshield frame and a vehicle body structure behind backrests of vehicle seats. The vehicle body frame structure comprises a rollover bar system which spans a vehicle occupant compartment of the passenger car transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The roof consists of a dimensionally stable material and is constructed as a single component, the roof being held in position by means of a fixing system and a locking system on the member part of the windshield frame and on the vehicle body structure respectively.
It is an object of the invention to create a removable roof for a passenger car which is securely held on a windshield frame by means of a fixing system. However, it should also be reliably ensured that the mounting and the removal of the roof is simple and that the fixing system is distinguished by a good functioning and components which can be implemented in an easy manner.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a removable roof for a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car, which in use covers an opening between a windshield frame and a body frame structure of a body of the passenger car extending behind vehicle occupant seats, said roof comprising a dimensionally stable material and cooperating by means of a form-lockingly operating fixing system with the windshield frame wherein the fixing system of the roof comprises a first fixing device and a second fixing device, which fixing devices are arranged offset with respect to one another in vertical direction of the vehicle by a distance predetermined and are caused to engage by movement of the roof in a driving direction.
Important advantages achieved by means of the invention are that the roof or its roof elements in connection with the first fixing device and the second fixing device can rapidly and appropriately be fixed on the windshield frame in the installed position and vice-versa. In this case the components and devices of the two fixing systems can be implemented by means of acceptable expenditures and, because they are arranged in a targeted manner, assume a largely embedded and lowered position. According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the fact that the bearing journal is held in position by means of an elastic device permits the compensation of tolerances and relative movements between the windshield frame and the vehicle body structure which may be represented by a rollover bar. The angular positions of the bearing journal of the second fixing system with respect to the horizontal line as well as of the above-mentioned bearing system with respect to the flange-type roof extension of the first fixing system cause an optimized alignment of the roof or of the roof elements with respect to the windshield frame and also with respect to the sealing body of the first fixing system according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention. In addition, an excellent sealing action is achieved by means of the sealing sections of the sealing body according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.